Long-term stability in the volume of Atlantic Puffin ( Fratercula arctica ) eggs in the western North Atlantic

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Lefort, Kyle J., Major, Heather L., Bond, Alexander L., Diamond, Antony W., Jones, Ian L., Montevecchi, William A., Provencher, Jennifer F., Robertson, Gregory J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2021
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Atlantic puffin; fratercula; Fratercula arctica; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2020-0254; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2020-0254; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2020-0254

In the eastern North Atlantic, declines in the volume of Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica (Linnaeus, 1758)) eggs have been associated with shifts in the marine ecosystem, such as changes in the abundance of forage fishes and increasing sea-surface temperatures. In the western North Atlantic, where similar shifts in oceanographic conditions and changes in the abundance of forage fishes have presumably occurred, trends in the volume of Atlantic Puffin eggs remain unknown. In this study, we investigate Atlantic Puffin egg volume in the western North Atlantic. We compiled 140 years (1877–2016) of egg volume measurements (n = 1805) and used general additive mixed-effects models to investigate temporal trends and regional variation. Our findings indicate that Atlantic Puffin egg volume differs regionally but has remained unchanged temporally in the western North Atlantic since at least the 1980s.